Adolph (Adolf) Guttmann was born on August 1, 1854 in Kraków in Galicia, in the Austrian part of Poland. After finishing his studies in Berlin and Vienna, he became Rabbi in Hohenems in 1877, where he served the community till 1883. He was a convinced member of the Reform movement and was ready to fight for his beliefs. He worked as a co-editor for the Jewish review "Reform" and contributed to other jewish-progressive periodicals. In 1880 he allowed the women to take place in the regular pews of the Hohenems synagogue, on the right side of the auditorium. The womens gallery was dedicated to the choir. When the synagogue in St. Gallen was inaugurated in September 1881 his sermon provoked harsh criticism in the orthodox camp, i.e. in the orthodox review "Der Israelit". In 1883 Guttmann moved accross the Atlantic to serve as rabbi of the Concord Society in Syracuse, upstate New York, succeeding Rabbi Herman Birkenthal who had served the congregation from 1875 until 1882.
Dr. Guttman helped establish most of the lasting Jewish community institutions in Syracuse, organizing and training the first modern temple choir, and modernizing the religious school. He also negotiated the Temple’s joining the Union of American Hebrew Congregations. In 1891, during the presidency of William Henocksburg, Dr. Guttman formed the Ladies Aid Society, which established the United Jewish Charities, later known as the Jewish Social Service Bureau (SOC, 16-17). Guttman also promoted the idea of a Y.M.H.A. which became the Jewish Community Center. In 1901 Guttmann convinced the president of the congregation, Gates Thalheimer, to build not only a new religious school but a new temple.
The building, designed by architect Arnold W. Brunner, a descendant of the Hohenems Brunner family, was dedicated on September 22, 1911 at what was a major ecumenical occasion in Syracuse.
Rabbi Guttman concluded his speech this way: “In this country no Jew needs to be ashamed of his religion. Under the protection of the Stars and the Stripes we are permitted to worship God according to the dictates of our heart. All that is required of us is to be upright and honest in our dealings with fellow men and be good American citizens. The better Jews we are the better Americans we will be.”
Joining Dr. Guttman was an ecumenical assembly of the city’s religious leaders. According to the newspaper: “Christian unity formed the basis of addresses by prominent Hebrew and Gentile clergymen at the Good Fellowship meeting…” “As Mr. Ferris came upon the platform he shook hands with Dr. Guttman and said, ‘As I looked through the long list of speakers, it occurred to me that were I engaged in the newspaper business I should flash some headlines like this: ‘Persecution of the Jews by the Christians resumed.’ This statement provoked both laughter and applause.” At a time of tension within the Jewish community, and increased antagonism to Jews in America because the large influx of Eastern European Jews into the country, the classical style synagogue was both a mediating device, and a new emblem of religious and civic identity. In Syracuse and elsewhere, synagogues were erected as “noble buildings” to help make “better Jews and better Americans.”
Rabbi Guttmann served Temple Concord till 1919. He also was professor of Semitics at Syracuse University. He died in New Haven on August 3rd, 1927. His motto was: "Creed and Deed." He once said, "In our religion we are Jews, but in every other respect we are part and parcel of this great country, which we love with heart and mind. Its flag is our flag, its victories our victories, its defeats our defeats."